REDLANDS >> Ivana Wright served 12 years as a Girl Scout, but she didn’t expect to be honored for it.

The San Gorgonio Council recently named Wright, a 2017 Redlands East Valley High School graduate, its Girl Scout of the Year, the highest designation a Scout can earn.

The award is given to a girl in grades 9-12 who “exemplifies through her words, actions and involvement the highest ideals of character, conduct, patriotism and service.” The Council collects nominations from anyone affiliated with nominees and the award winner is selected by a Council Recognitions Committee.

Wright learned she had received the designation at a recent Scout dinner. The recognition threw her off.

“I was so confused,” Wright, 18, said with a chuckle. “It was so funny. They called my name and the girl next to me was like, ‘Isn’t that your name?’ It was a great.”

Wright’s involvement with the Scouts began in kindergarten, thus marking her 12th consecutive year with Troop 286.

Wright followed in her older sister’s footsteps when deciding to become a Scout — “I wanted to be like her,” she said — and her mother, Virna Valdivia-Wright, became a Scout leader because there wasn’t a troop at her school.

Wright has taken on dozens of projects throughout her Scouting career and does so without expecting recognition but instead hopes to help others, she said.

“When I look at what I accomplished, I think it’s a great thing. I just think of the opportunities I get when helping others. I don’t know how to explain the feeling,” she said.

Her mother, however, said she’s amazed by her daughter.

“When she received (Girl Scout of the Year) it covered it all,” Valdivia-Wright said. “She’s always given back to the community. Honestly, I don’t know how she gets it all done, but she always seems to make time to provide some sort of service to help people out.”

Wright will begin studying at University of Redlands this fall, and already she is looking to the future.

She plans to stay active in the community by participating in service projects while she pursues her teaching credentials. Post-graduation, Wright plans to teach in a disadvantaged country and start a dance company that would allow people to dance at no charge.

She also hopes her story inspires other Scouts to go the distance.

“Stay with it and don’t give up on anything,” Wright said. “Remember: You’re helping others and that can make you more happy.”

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